Saturday, November 04, 2006

The Big Surprise(s)

I'm writing from Germany right now. That's right... Germany! Well, you may already know that we were planning on traveling to Germany... but Tobi's parents didn't! We thought it would be fun to surprise them for Tobi's father's 58th birthday. One of their friends (Hans) picked us up from the Nuremberg airport yesterday morning, and brought us to the town that Tobi's parents live in - Neunkirchen am Brand. Then Hans and I planned out exactly how we were going to surprise them - he would go to the door and say that he has two orphans that need to be looked after while he goes to his doctors appointment. Since Hans has two dogs, Tobi's parents would think he was talking about the dogs, and come out to the car, where Lukas and I would be waiting (with the video camera of course). Keep in mind that it's been a quarter of a year since they've seen us, we haven't talked to them on the phone much lately, and they thought they wouldn't see us until they come to visit at the end of January. WOW! They're reaction was priceless. They were so happy! Tobi's Mom cried, Tobi's Dad screamed, and we just laughed.

But we'll only be here for three days total. "Why only 3 days?" you might ask. Well, my Mom doesn't know it yet, but we're on our way to surprise her! (Which is precisely why I can't post this entry until after we show up at her office in Orlando on Tuesday. Oh that'll be fun! Mom's sister, Camille will pick us up from the airport, and we'll head out to see Mom at the University (where she works). Then we'll stay with Mom for a few days (and there are more surprises in store, but I'll have to write about those even later!).

Well, Tobi's father's birthday party will be starting soon, so I better get ready! All those people are going to be so surprised to see us... and anyone who knows me knows that there's nothing I like better than a good surprise!!! Until next time (when I'll be able to tell you all about Mom's reaction!). Ciao!

P.S. Lukas has been doing well, despite the long journey. In the beginning of our trip he had a very high fever, but I gave him some Tylenol and took some of his clothes off to cool him down, and then he was fine. He's so happy to see "Oma" and "Opa", and I know he's going to be thrilled to see "Grandma" and his American Aunties! Our luggage was lost (once again), so we had to buy a few new items to wear until it arrives. Rita (Tobi's mother) and I found some really cute stuff for Lukas at the baby store here in town. The only real development with him over the past week or so, is that we bought him a walker on Tuesday, and since then, he's begun following us all over the house. He's so proud of himself, and he loves the fact that he can keep much better tabs on us now!

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About Me

Liz Kraft is a writer, blogger, traveler, mother of three, and aspiring humanitarian,.
Based in Erlangen, Germany, Liz currently works at hl-studios in Erlangen, an amazing advertising agency that she absolutely adores. She's also worked at Bavarian television, as a freelancer, and as a Marketing Communications Specialist at Siemens, where her job supporting a global product line took her on monthly trips across the Atlantic.
A native of Florida, she has a Bachelors degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the Nicholson School of Communications at the University of Central Florida. More recently, Liz attended multiple online courses at the esteemed mediabistro.com, allowing her to pursue travel writing and journalism with much vigor.
Despite having visited 20 countries, five of which she has been fortunate enough to call "home", Liz still feels as though she knows little about the world. From the townships of South Africa to the camps of Haiti, she finds it impossible to close her eyes to the great suffering - and beauty - of the world.